Hidden
by Shadowsonicstar
Summary: Luke hoped Guy would forgive him for whatever he did, because honestly, all he wanted was his best friend back. Guy/Luke. Pre-game.


"Cheater!"

"Aww. C'mon Luke. Don't be such a sore loser."

Luke 'hmphed' in resilience as he turned away from Guy pouting. He so cheated. Guy just laughed at his childish attitude. He put his sword away and Luke simply laid the wooden sword on the ground.

"Hey, don't worry. One day, when you're older, I'm sure you'll be able to beat me." Placing a hand on the thirteen year old's head, Guy looked up in concentration. "Though by the way you're growing, I'm not too sure."

"Stop calling me short!" Luke shook his head, effectively throwing Guy's hand off his head and immediately tackled him.

"H-hey!" Guy fell to the ground as the younger teen pounced on his back.

"Rematch!" Luke shouted happily, glad to have toppled his guardian.

"Don't think so!"

The two laughed and rolled on the floor as they wrestled. Luke tugged at Guy's neckpiece, effectively choking him. Guy put Luke in a headlock, and twisted his arm back until Luke was forced to let go out of discomfort. This went on for about 10 minutes before Luke groaned an 'uncle' during a particularly harsh noogie. Tired of their horseplay, both parties just sprawled out on the grass breathing heavily.

"I so won." Luke spoke through the silence.

"Yeah right." Guy shot back closing his eyes.

Luke sighed dreamily and crawled his way to Guy, curling up to his side and snuggling into his neck. Guy stiffened at the contact.

"You know what, you're my best friend Guy." Luke breathed softly into Guy's neck as he drifted into slumber.

Guy swallowed nervously and pulled back a little. _'What the hell am I doing?! I'm suppose to kill him!'_. Mind set on revenge, he untangled Luke's grip from his self and pushed him back.

"Hn? What's wrong?"

"Trust me. You shouldn't get too close."

Luke tilted his head to the side and looked up questioningly at the older teen.

"What do you mean?"

"Sorry. But it's better this way."

Guy got up, dusting himself off and fixing his hair.

"Don't worry about it. Just don't get too friendly." Guy stated plainly.

"Eh?! Why?!"

Luke scrambled off the floor as Guy made his way to the exit of the courtyard.

"Why should I stay away?!" In a desperate move, Luke grasped the tail ends of Guy's coat. Guy calmly unattached Luke's fingers from his garment and turned away.

"It'll just be too much pain…"

Guy left the courtyard, not noticing the tears on Luke's face. As Guy disappeared behind the door to the main entrance, Luke got up and ran to his room, slammed the door shut, and fell to the floor crying.

_'Why? Why did he leave me? We were getting along just fine!' _Luke sniffed and wiped his tears on his sleeve.

"Master Luke? May I come in?"

At the sound of the maid's voice, Luke furiously wiped any remain of tears from his face and got control of his breathing.

"C-come in."

The maid opened the door and promptly bowed.

"Sir, Madame Susanne has requested your presence for lunch today. Please join her in the Drawing Room immediately." She turned to leave without so much as looking at Luke, which he was greatly glad for since his face was still slightly red.

Luke left his room quietly and walked out to the courtyard. Servants and maids were hurrying along to different wings as some were carrying armor and weapons to deliver to the knights, whereas others were just simply carrying dishes and food to the kitchens.

Luke just snailed his way through the crowd, looking at the ground. An unnoticing maid accidentally bumped into him in her rush, knocking them both down, along with the plates she was carrying. They fell to the floor with a crash and all of the plates broke. The other servants and maids ignored them as she panicked.

"Master Luke! I am so sorry! Oh no, I'll surely be fired… But are you alright Master Luke?!"

Luke looked up angrily from the ground, he was about to yell at her but stopped before he could open his mouth. _'Wait…could he be mad at me?...'_ Luke searched through his memories as different scenarios ran through his head. _'Could it be because of that one time I stole an apple from the kitchen and he got blamed? Or was it that one time I broke that whatever machine he was working on?' _As he recalled his wrongdoings, Luke got up from the floor and started to pick up the remains up of the broken dishes.

"It's okay…it was my fault, I should have payed attention to where I was going...."

The maid looked at Luke in surprise at his words and was glued to the floor in shock when she saw him help pick up the pieces. Snapping out of her stupor, she picked up the rest of the broken pieces. Luke handed her the shattered remains he picked up and nodded his head slightly.

"Sorry for the trouble, and don't worry, I'll just tell father it was my fault if he asks."

"O-oh! Thank you Master Luke! I'm sorry! This was all my fault! If you ever need anything please just ask."

The maid stammered out a "good day sir" and hurried away. Luke stared contemplative at the direction where she left, before sighing and turned to the flower garden near by. He looked at the flowers wistfully as he thought. _' I must have made him mad. That has to be it. I wish I could make it up to him somehow. The only question is how?'_

"Enjoying the garden?"

Luke squeaked in surprise and turned around. He as so deep in thought he hadn't even noticed someone sneak up behind him! He quickly relaxed as he realized it was only Peré. Peré just smiled kindly down at Luke.

"oh, um… I was just, you know, looking around…and stuff…and doing…stuff…" Luke almost smacked himself at the lame excuse that came out of his own mouth. The gardener just laughed.

"It's okay Mater Luke. I planted these flowers here in hope that everytime you see them, they can bring a smile to your face, even in this enclosed space you must live in."

Glancing down at the small garden, Luke gave a small smile. It did give him a small sense of happiness. They really were beautiful. In fact, a bouquet of them would make a wonderful gift. Luke suddenly remembered his current predicament.

"Hey Peré, is Guy mad at me?"

Peré looked down at Luke in surprise. "Did something happen?"

"It's just, I don't know if I did something, but I want to apologize anyways. "

Luke looked up at the gardener with honest eyes. Peré's expression was blank for a moment, before picking a flower from the garden,

"If you really want to apologize, do something special for him. From the heart." He twirled the stem of the flower as he talked.

"There are many things that Guy would favor. It can be as complex as a fon machine, or as simple as a flower." He held out the flower to Luke's reach. Luke took it confusingly and looked down at it.

"And I just happen to know his favorite." Eyes widening in realization, Luke smiled brightly up to the older man.

"Thank you!"

________________________________

Luke struggled down the hallway with difficulty. In his left hand was a small flower pot that wasn't more than a 8 inches tall. In his right hand was the corner of a bag that held enough soil for the entire courtyard. Peré lent him a pot, soil, and some seeds, and was ready to plant his apology present.

Luke treaded down the hallway and focused on the ground. _'Must...make it...to room...'_ In the corner of his eye, he saw a baby turtle walk past him. He sweatdropped as he stopped, and dropped everything to the ground. "Okay that's it. Break time."

He leaned up against the wall and slid to the ground exhausted. _'Ugh. Why is work so hard? No wonder everyone complains about it all the time.'_ He focused his attention to the baby turtle that walked down the hallway. Now that he thought about it, how on earth did a baby turtle get into the manor? He gave a huff of annoyance as he saw the small animal disappear into an open door. _'Stupid turtle. Better go save it before the chef serves it for dinner.'_

Luke followed the baby turtle into the room. He took notice that the entire room was filled with boxes, and most of it covered in dust. HE gave another sigh. How on earth was he supposed to find a turtle in this mess? "C'mere baby turtle. C'mon turtle. You don't want to be soup tonight do ya?" He searched the room and after about 5 minutes, turned around giving up. "Whatever. If you want to be eaten that's fine by me." He headed to the exit being careful to avoid any obstacles and stepping over boxes. Stepping over a tattered bag, he failed to notice the rag laying on the floor and fell to the ground.

"Ugh..." He closed his eyes on impact and groaned as he felt a headache begin to form. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked as he saw a pair of black, beady eyes stare back at him. "Turtle?" The young Fabre questioned. The small animal tilted it's head to the side before nipping at Luke's nose. Luke simply blinked in confusion and picked himself up from the floor with turtle in tow. "Where were you little guy?" As though answering Luke's question, it's head tilted towards the right. Luke spared a glance at the side as well, feeling he should give the small animal the benefit of the doubt.

Most of the room consisted of a disarrangement of old and worn items. The only things that weren't covered in dust were useless looking things such as lamps and chairs. There was one thing that did catch Luke's eye though. Resting by the windowsill was a dusty old case that was shaped oddly. Luke carefully made his way to the corner and blew the dust off the case. He snapped open the locks carefully and opened up the cover. Inside was...something he has ever seen before in his entire life.

Raising a curious brow, Luke held the turtle gently with one had and poked the odd thing inside with his other. He didn't recognize the shape and it had 6 strings. He pulled at one experimentally and let it go. A piercing, off tune sound echoed throughout the room. He plucked another one, and this time heard a scream.

"OUCH!"

Luke turned to the door and saw a maid skid across the floor, crashing into the open door. She fell to the ground slowly and landed face down. Not sure if she as still alive, he grabbed an abandoned coat hanger from the floor and tentatively poked the older woman with it. He took note that it was the same maid that he bumped into earlier. "Um, are you okay?" Her hand twitched and Luke assumed that as a sign of life. He simply sat down on the floor beside her, petting the turtle's back, and watched as she began to wake.

"Ow...what hit me?" She opened her eyes a little bit and turned to the side. As she saw Luke sitting there staring, her eyes widened and she jumped up giving her a head rush. She swayed on her feet trying to explain.

"Ah! Master Luke! I'm sorry! I was just making my way to the kitchens when I tripped over a bag! I'm so sorry! Why do I have to be so clumsy?!"

Luke shook his head and got up off the floor as well.

"No it's fine. What did you trip over?" he asked curiously. The maid pointed towards the bag that was in the hallway. Luke stared back at the maid with a blank expression, which the turtle in his hands mirrored.

"You tripped over a bag of soil in the middle of the hallway?"

The maid nodded.

"In the middle of a _30ft_ wide hallway?"

The maid blushed at the implications. She looked back and saw there was certainly plenty of room to go around it. How wonderful, it wasn't even lunch yet and she already embarrassed herself twice in front of her young master. She gave a stressful sigh. At least it wasn't the Duke this time...

Luke shook his head absentmindedly and asked, "Hey. Do you know what that is?" The maid looked at where Luke's finger pointed and saw a guitar lying in the case.

"You mean the guitar?"

"A guitar eh…"

Luke's face was contemplative for a moment before he gave a small jump, startling the maid and the poor animal as well.

"Hey, can you teach me how to play?" Luke could almost dance with the turtle for his brilliant idea. Not only would he get Guy a present, but he would play him a song too! There was no way he wouldn't forgive him!

"Um well, I'm not too sure…"

"Well, you could think of it as the one thing I need you to do for me."

The maid reluctantly nodded.

"Okay. But it'll take awhile to learn." She knew the younger Fabre had no patience what so ever so she better make sure he was up to hours of practice first.

"That's okay! I'll just cancel practice with Master Van for awhile and come here instead!" Luke was planning on canceling practice earlier anyway so he could focus all his attention on Guy's present. Now he had something else to look forward too. Now that he remembered, he should head to the drawing room before going to his room to inform his father of his situation.

"Are you sure Master Luke?"

"Yup! Oh, and don't tell father or mother either."

"Very well. Is there anything in specific you want to learn?"

"Err, not exactly…"

"Well, why don't you come up with a song and I'll teach you ok?"

"Alright!"

Picking up the forgotten items sprawled across the hallway, he went back to his difficult journey as he placed the turtle on top of his head. The small animal nestled into his hair and gripped it with its tiny claws. Luke made it to the drawing room about 15 minutes later of dragging and pulling. His father and Master Van were sitting at the table.

"Luke, you're late. And what is that you're carrying?" Duke Fabre asked eyeing the bag that was obviously too heavy for the small boy.

"I'm sorry father. I got sidetracked. I was just getting some soil for the plants."

Van looked at Luke in surprise whereas the Duke looked murderous.

"And they're _making_ you do their work?"

"Huh? Oh no, I asked to help."

"You _asked_?"

"Yeah. The flowers looked really cool…and…um…"

Luke shrinked back at his father's glare.

"And _what_ have I told you about mingling with the lower class?"

"Not too…"

"Luke, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"I'm sorry…"

"And what is that thing on your head?"

Luke gently took the turtle off his head and held it gently. He ignored his father for the time being and looked at his sword instructor timidly. Van turned towards Luke and asked kindly, "Now what is it you needed to tell me?"

"Er…I was just wondering..if you could, um…" Luke looked down to his feet. Damn it! It was now or never! The turtle pawed the younger boy's hand as an act of encouragment. Luke took a deep breath and spoke at an inhuman speed,

"IsitokayifIskipclassesforafewweeks?"

Both Van and Duke Fabre blinked in union.

"I'm sorry can you repeat that?" Van asked with a dubious voice.

Taking a deep breath, Luke breathed out evenly,

"Um, is it okay if I skip classes for a few weeks?"

Both the adults in the room stared at Luke blankly. Luke shuffled his feet nervously, suddenly finding the small turtle's back interesting. He jumped as he heard Van begin to laugh. Luke almost passed out from shock as his father began to chuckle as well. The Duke placed his hand on Luke's head and gave him a small pat. Hell, he even patted the turtle lightly!

"Ok, enough laughs. Now what did you want to talk about?"

"Father, I'm not joking…"

"_**WHAT?!**_"

Luke cowered at his father's glare. He looked absolutely _vivid_.

"And just what makes you think you can slack off in your practices?"

Luke didn't answer. He just stared back at the creature in his hands. Van sighed, and placed a calming hand on the Duke's shoulder.

"Now, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for this. I believe it probably has something to do with Madame Susanne's birthday coming near?"

Luke snapped his head back up in surprise. He had completely forgotten. But now, he had the perfect excuse! He nodded eagerly as he explained to them, moving the turtle around with his hand motions to add to the effect.

"Yeah. You see, I really want to make mother something special for her birthday, and it'll take a lot of time. So I thought that maybe I could skip a few practices to get her gift ready."

Van ruffled Luke's hair affectionately. "That's all right. I understand how important your mother is. I'll be back in about 4 weeks ok?"

Luke smiled broadly and hugged the older man.

"Thank you Master Van!"

Luke placed the turtle back on his head and ran out of the drawing room, totally ignoring his father, as fast as he could carrying the overweight soil bag. Finally arriving to his room, he dropped the bag by his bed and sat by his windowsill, getting the flower pot aligned with the sun.

Filling the put up with soil, he smiled as he planted the seeds Peré gave him. He completely ignored the small mountain of soil that was no surrounding the pot since he poured too much. The turtle dislodged itself from Luke's hair and climbed down from his shoulder and arm to the small bed of soil. It sat there silentley watching Luke's movements. Luke grabbed the miniature watering can he also received and poured a small amount of water into the pot. Putting the can on his bedside, he flopped on his bed with a sigh. He closed his eyes as he thought about the kind of song he wanted to learn.

_"You shouldn't get to close."_

_"It'll be too much pain…"_

Luke held back the tears that threatened to fall. He turned over on his bed and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep_. 'Guy…why'd you say those things?...'_

Struck by genius, Luke opened his eyes in shock.

" I GOT IT!", and grabbing paper and a pencil from his desk, he began to write.

______________________________

_**4 weeks later**_

"Guy. Your presence is requested in the Drawing Room."

Guy raised a brow as the maid nodded her head towards him. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. It's been weeks since he last talked to Luke. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was missing his younger master a lot. He put the wet rag he was cleaning with away and made his way to the hallway.

He entered the drawing room to see the Duke, Madame Susanne, Luke, Ramdas, and the maid who fetched him earlier.

Luke gulped nervously as Guy entered the room. It was now or never. He felt the turtle, now officinally named "Tortuga", chew and tug a chunk of his hair comfortingly. He gently dislodged him from his hair and placed him carefully on his mother's lap. Madame Susanne had taking a liking to Luke's new pet much to Duke Fabre's dismay. And thankfully for Luke, Tortuga found Sussane's lap just as comfy as his hair.

"Umm…thanks for coming. I wrote a song, and hope that you all like it."

Everyone in the room looked at Luke in surprise. He went opened a box behind him, and took out a guitar. Ramdas smiled sheepishly and took out a pair of maracas and the maid had two sticks and a text book. Luke sat down on the chair that was in the center in the room. He swallowed and took a deep breath before starting.

_You and me _

_We used to be together _

_Everyday together always _

Duke Fabre looked at his son in shock. He had no idea he could even play an instrument. Susanne smiled at her son warmly. She always knew he had potential. His voice was beautiful. She gently squeezed the rappig plushie that Luke sewed her for her birthday and gave Tortuga's shell a small stroke. The boy was so kind...

_I really feel _

_That I'm losing my best friend _

_I can't believe_

_This could be the end _

Guy widened his eyes in realization. His gaze locked with Luke's. He was playing the guitar skillfully and had the aura of an expert.. You couldn't even tell he was an amateur with the passion he was playing with.

_It looks as though you're letting go _

_And if it's real _

_Well I don't want to know _

Ramdas started shaking the maracas and the maid tapped the textbook with the sticks lightly. Luke picked up the speed and began to play with gusto.

_Don't speak _

_I know just what you're saying_

_So please stop explaining _

_Don't tell me cause it hurts _

Luke stared straight at Guy as he sung. Guy tensed a bit at the gaze but did not break eye contact.

_Don't speak _

_I know what you're thinking _

_I don't need your reasons _

_Don't tell me cause it hurts_

Slowing down, Luke broke his stare to focus on the musical instrument. Guy spared a glance towards Luke's parents to see Susanne smiling with bright eyes and Duke Fabre looking well, still shocked for the most part.

_Our memories _

_Well, they can be inviting _

_But some are altogether _

_Mighty frightening _

Luke once again made eye contact with his caretaker with a blank gaze. Guy didn't even try to break away.

_As we die, both you and I _

_With my head in my hands _

_I sit and cry _

Luke's gaze softened as the music sped up once again. Susanne was simply swaying lightly to the music and her husband still couldn't find the capability to do anything other than stare in shock.

_Don't speak _

_I know just what you're saying _

_So please stop explaining_

_Don't tell me cause it hurts (no, no, no) _

_Don't speak _

_I know what you're thinking _

_I don't need your reasons _

_Don't tell me cause it hurts _

Closing his eyes, Luke sang,

_It's all ending _

_I gotta stop pretending who we are... _

Taking his cue, Luke began to play his guitar solo. Guy stared mesmerized at his movements, watching him delicately pluck the strings of the guitar. Slowing down, Luke opened his eyes and the three who made up the audience gasped, and even the turtle seemed to shuffle uncomfortably in Susanne's lap. Crystal tears were watered in Luke's eyes, threatening to fall.

_You and me I can see us dying...are we?_

Standing up, Luke closed his eyes quickly as a single tear fell.

_Don't speak _

_I know just what you're saying _

_So please stop explaining_

_Don't tell me cause it hurts (no, no, no) _

_Don't speak _

_I know what you're thinking _

_I don't need your reasons _

_Don't tell me cause it hurts _

_Don't tell me cause it hurts! _

_I know what you're saying _

_So please stop explaining_

Luke stepped forward, the words sounding chocked as he tried to stop the tears from flowing.

_Don't speak,_

_don't speak, _

_don't speak, _

_oh I know what you're thinking _

_And I don't need your reasons _

_I know you're good, _

_I know you're good, _

_I know you're real good _

_Oh, la la la la la la_

_La la la la la la _

_Don't, Don't, uh-huh Hush, hush darlin' _

_Hush, hush darlin' Hush, hush _

_don't tell me tell me cause it hurts _

Speaking in an almost platonic voice now, Luke's gaze seemed to pierce through Guy's soul, as he kept crying, with hurt evident in his eyes.

_Hush, hush darlin' Hush, hush darlin' _

_Hush, hush don't tell me tell me cause it hurts_

Luke played the last string with a sigh. Snapping out of his trance, he jumped as he heard clapping. He looked towards his mother as she clapped with a sad smile. Even Tortuga was on his back, flailing his stubby legs around in a clapping motion. His father was also clapping, though very slowly and his face seemed to imitate a fish out of water. Guy's head was tilted to the ground, blocking Luke from seeing any emotion. Luke gulped. He still must be mad. He put the guitar on the ground softly and went to his bag that he had next to the guitar case. He smiled softly as he found what he was looking for, and trotted up to Guy.

He tugged on the older boy's sleeve. As Guy's head tilted up, Luke immediately faced towards the ground before he could see his expression. He held out his only peace offering.

"I-I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Guy chocked and tried to hold back the tears that wanted to fall. In Luke's hand, was a small flower pot, with a single Gaillardia flower. There was no way Peré told him his past. He had no idea what his gift meant to him. He placed a shaky hand on top of Luke's head.

Luke froze as he felt a hand on top of his head. He tensed up, bracing himself for what he thought was going to be a smack. He relaxed as he felt the hand ruffle his hair lightly.

Guy tilted Luke's chin up. Luke gave a short gasp as he saw tears streaming down his guardian's face. Guy gently pressed his forehead to the younger boy's. He closed his eyes, tears still falling.

"Thank you."

__________________

Shadow: Um, I don't know. I've never really liked song fics but this was stuck in my head for a good while, and finally, after many biology classes, I've finished it. In Honors World Culture. I love my dedication to school. So good? Bad? I dunno, please review. No flames please. I was thinking of continuing this, but I'm not too sure…


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